In this day and age, pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that online services come with the addition of tracking software. And while there are certainly ways around this (avoiding technology altogether, for example, or installing anti-spyware), the truth is that any time you create a social networking profile, download an app, or get online at all, your every click and tap is going to be monitored, recorded, and likely sold to the highest bidder in order to “optimize” your user experience (read: increase a retailer’s ability to target you for marketing efforts). Yes, it’s a Big Brother kind of world. But with consumers complaining about a lack of privacy and policies that are full of hard-to-read legal jargon, and the FTC going after sites like Google and Facebook for virtually stealing customer information without consent, we may just have a shot at keeping our online movements safe from prying eyes at some point (one can only hope). And it seems that California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, has decided to get in on the fray.

Harris recently issued a set of guidelines aimed at companies that develop mobile applications, as well as hosting platforms and advertisers affiliated with them. As you are likely well aware, many free applications (and some paid ones) earn revenue through in-app advertising (or “appvertising”, as it has become known). And whether you know it or not, the vast majority collects data from your phone or tablet and use it to determine which ads are coming your way. What is more nefarious is the fact that many collect information from your devices without your express permission, and further, they mine data that has absolutely nothing to do with running the application. Are you starting to get angry? Kamala Harris is.

In fact, she has publicly attacked technology companies, including Facebook and Apple, in her pursuit of policies that favor transparency and user privacy. She even sued Delta Airlines for failing to meet federal guidelines connected to informing users of the ways in which personal data gathered via their mobile app would be used. But it seems that she has finally gotten tired of chasing down individual companies and instead opted for a blanket policy. Of course, she has no authority to enforce her newly-created guidelines, but she is urging app developers, advertisers, and the platforms that support them to not only inform users of their privacy policies, but to do so in a way that readers can easily comprehend.

In addition, she wants app developers to let users know when third parties (advertisers, for example) are mining data, and to stop collecting any information that is not vital to running their applications. And she has called on advertisers to create their own privacy policies to attach to app downloads. She wants users to know just who is collecting their data and how it’s being used before they agree to this invasion of privacy. When you shop at a PC wholesale outlet, you can reasonably expect to get what you pay for. But when you download an app, you could be getting all kinds of extras that you didn’t even know about, and they could come back to bite you in a number of ways.

Sadly, it seems that this is an undeniable part of operating in the online arena. But California Attorney General Kamala Harris is on a crusade to protect consumers from such invasions of privacy. And while she might not have the authority to stop the practice, she can certainly make some noise and raise awareness amongst consumers, who actually have the power to affect change through their purchasing and download habits where apps are concerned.